


Amidst the Chaos

by sideofgrima



Category: Among Us (Video Game), Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Among Us (Video Game) Setting, Angst, Crewmate Turned Impostor (Among Us), F/M, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27292840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sideofgrima/pseuds/sideofgrima
Summary: Life is full of hills and valleys, and unfortunately, Robin seems to be stuck at rock bottom. All signs told her to just give up: yet when a dangerous parasite threatens the galaxy, she realizes this might be her chance to make her mark on the world… and reconnect with her ex-boyfriend Chrom, who she’s been avoiding for the past fives years for... personal reasons.An Among Us AU with a side of angst ;)
Relationships: Chrom/My Unit | Reflet | Robin
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	1. A Series of Unfortunate Events

The reflective shock blanket was a garish distraction amongst the chaos around her. Crewmates shuffled in and out of the medbay, half of them paying no mind to her, the others trying to figure out what the  _ hell _ went wrong.

Being the only surviving member aboard the CS  _ Goetia _ wasn’t a title Robin wore proudly, nor was being the last eyewitness available to recount the horrors she had just experienced. But if it meant finding out what exactly happened, she would gladly put her feelings aside to do so.

The medbay doors opened and a woman stepped through, whose blonde curls were pulled back with a large pink bow, which happened to match the details of her own uniform. She pulled a swivel chair from a nearby desk and sat herself in front of Robin, a small clipboard in hand.

“Crewmate PURP0, codename  _ Reflet.  _ Head navigator and first mate to Captain BLAP0, codename  _ Fauder _ . Is that all correct?” The woman asked.

“Yes… but please, just call me Robin.”

“Of course, darling. I’m head of medical staff on the BS  _ Shepherd _ , crewmate PINP1, codename… scratch that. If we’re ditching formalities, then my name is Maribelle. Now… I understand you’ve been through quite a lot since our ship picked up your distress signal. And that  _ was _ you on the recording, yes?”

“It was,” Robin responded with a nod.

“Very good,” Maribelle wrote something down in her notes. “Now, if it’s alright with you, I would like to ask you a couple questions about your experiences on the  _ Goetia _ .”

“Alright…”

“Good, and for simplicity's sake, I’m asking for your consent to record this interview.”

Robin gave a quick nod which Maribelle acknowledged with a smile. From her space suit pocket she pulled out a small, green ball, one that she tapped the top of. The ball began to float as a small circle opened and displayed a bright green screen, while another section of the orb opened with a handful of clicks and pops, revealing a small camera. Robin’s image reflected back at her on the screen, though it made her wince.

She looked absolutely tragic. Her hair was a mess, dark bags hung under her eyes, and a splash of dried blood still remained on her skin, though all she could wonder was which one of her crewmates it belonged to.

“Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?” Maribelle asked. She flipped through a handful of pages in her clipboard before tapping her pen against one. “Tell me about your ship's mission. Why were you out on the outskirts of the star maps?”

“In all honesty… I was never given a concise briefing on what our job was out here.”

“You were the first mate and the captain never confided in you?”

“He had his reasons, I suppose… though I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something illegal.”

Maribelle seemed to be taken aback by Robin’s bluntness. She leaned forward ever so slightly, as if she may have misheard something.

“Would you like to elaborate on that?”

“The captain,  _ Fauder _ , real name Validar, was a shady man. He’s infamous around the world for making illegal runs across different planets for high amounts of money, and then sending his lackeys after anyone who refuses to pay.”

“I’m sorry… you said Validar?  _ The _ Validar?”

“Unfortunately, the very same. He’s gone through more alias’ and fake names than anyone I’ve ever met, and  _ Fauder _ just happened to be his most recent. The little mafia he runs has only lasted so long because of that… and the fact that any of his underlings seem to throw themselves at law enforcement whenever Validar was close to being found. Throw their scent off his trail, buy him enough time to escape and lay low.”

“And how did you find yourself working with them?”

Robin pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. “Because… Validar also happens to be my father.”

Maribelle’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t know he had any children.”

“I’ve done my best to distance myself from him. The only reason I even  _ considered _ working for him was because I was struggling to find work otherwise. I’ve been between jobs and interviews since I graduated, but no one seems to be interested in hiring. He offered me one day and I was desperate,” Robin lamented.

“I see… and where did you graduate from?” 

“Naga’s Institute for Space Exploration.”

“Oh, that’s in Ylisse. I’m sorry, but are you… not from Plegia?”

“I am… and I can’t imagine the mixed feelings your captain must’ve had when receiving a Plegian distress signal, given our countries circumstance.”

“Our captain is a fair man. I see no need for our personal biases and prejudice to get in the way… unless you think otherwise?” Maribelle said as she raised an eyebrow.

“N-no, that’s not what I meant. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no happier about the actions of the Plegian king than you are. Hell, I’ve lived in Ylisse for as long as I can remember but…. I don’t know, I suppose I’m not as attuned to the political climate as I thought.”

“I see… Well, there’s no faulting you there. It's a messy, complicated situation. But nevermind that… NISE? Quite the prestigious school. Did you know quite a few of our crewmates came from there? Our very own captain sure did. I’m surprised no one’s wanted to hire you?”

“Perhaps my name looked a bit too foriegn,” Robin joked, though the other woman didn’t so much as grin. With an awkward cough, she cleared her throat.

“Can you tell me about anything specific about the job your crew was tasked with? Anything you saw them doing?”

“Well,” she started. “We were almost constantly on the move. In the two weeks we were out here, we only stopped once because there was an uncharted minor-planet that Validar was insistent on visiting. He said something about a rare plant or material he needed for his next job or some bullshit and had us docked on the surface for days. He left us alone with his telecom off, so none of us could reach him and disappeared into the wilderness for god knows how long. Do you know how many solar storms were hit with? Our ship was almost ripped apart by those winds, and we found Validar days later, unconscious out in the middle of nowhere. His helmet had been smashed in, probably by a rock picked up by the wind or something, but he couldn’t have been luckier since the air was breathable. But… god, something changed in him after that day.”

“I see… does this event have anything to do with the tragedy that took place on your ship?” 

“I don’t know...  _ maybe _ . After we left the planet and got back into orbit, he rarely talked to any of us, though, I guess that wasn’t really different. But there was no thank you or gratitude for saving his life, you know? For all he cared, we could’ve left him stranded out there to die and be picked off by whatever fauna found him first.

“But we didn’t. Which is surprising considering the majority of crewmates were criminals and thugs… and I suppose that’s why I wasn’t shocked to find the first dead body.”

“First?”

“Yes. Our ship was in rough shape after the storms hit, and so lights were constantly going out, and because I was the only one with any damn experience, I was in our electrical room to fix it. That’s when I saw Garrick’s corpse… or what was left of it, I suppose. Something had ripped his torso from his bottom half, and I only knew it was him based on the color of his remaining space suit. When I reported it, everyone was a little shaken. Everyone except Validar. He claimed that losing his head would be unbecoming of a captain, but I didn’t buy that shit for a minute. 

“Then the second body was found. Orton was our weapons master, and he had been shooting down some stray asteroids when we found him skewered to his seat, dead.”

“How barbaric…” Maribelle whispered.

“That’s what we all thought. Except for Validar and Campari. Campari went on and on about how neither of them were worth much, blah blah blah. Just… really horrible stuff to say about your crewmates. I suspected that he may have been the killer… but I guess everyone took my words to heart and Validar suggested throwing him out the airlock.

“It went on like that until me, the captain, and two other crewmates remained. Everyone else was either slaughtered or tossed into space, and I want to kick myself for not seeing it sooner…”

“Seeing what exactly?”

“The monster my father had become,” Robin muttered. The image of Validar stumbling through the halls, eyes rolled to the back of his head and stomach split open to reveal rows of sharp teeth and a lashing tongue made her skin crawl. “I don’t know what  _ that _ was, but it chased me and the last crewmates through the ship. We barricaded ourselves in the communication room so I could send a signal out, all the while ‘Validar’ pounded on the blast doors to get in. 

“He eventually stopped, and we let our guards down for just a moment before his mutated body came bursting through the ventilation system in the ground. I just barely got the doors open before it shot its tongue through Algol’s head and killed him on the spot. Mustafa and I spent our time hiding in different rooms before he eventually died too. The only thing I could think to do was go hide in weapons but… then your ship picked up my signal.”

“And it seems we arrived just in time,” Marribelle added. “Though when we boarded your vessel, you were hiding in the comms room and Validar was dead… what-”

“I killed him. I stabbed him through the chest with whatever spare piece of metal I could find,” Robin said quietly. “Don’t think of me as some cold blooded killer I… I just didn’t know what else to do... “ she stared down at her hands, which had begun to shake. She thought back to the blood splattered across her face, which at this point had to have been Validar’s.

“Any of us would’ve done the same in your position,” Maribelle tried to comfort. “Now, I’m curious as to what happened to Validar. I didn’t get to see his body but you said he turned into a monster?”

“I don’t know what it was exactly, but his whole body had just, I don’t know, changed? His stomach split open, his own neck seemed to break. It was terrifying to have some bastardized version of your father chase you around a ship in the middle of nowhere.”

“And you mentioned he acted differently? Is it possible it wasn’t him at all?”

“What, like some kind of imposter?”

“Of sorts… we’ve had reports of ships losing their crew to deranged members, though I’ve never heard of their bodies mutating… How strange. Well, I think-”

Before she could finish her sentence, the medbay doors opened once more, where a young woman in a yellow accented uniform walked in.

The other woman shot a glare as she motioned to the camera, which was still recording.

“Lissa, I let the crew know I had clearance over medbay! I'm still interviewing!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Lissa gave Robin an apologetic look before doing a double take. “Robin!? That was  _ your _ ship!?”

“Hi Lissa,” she responded quietly. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little embarrassed for you to see me like this.”

“Hello?” Maribelle interrupted. “I’m still here? Pah, never mind. I guess we can be done.”

“Oh my god, don’t even worry about it! I’m just happy to see you again. How long has it been?”

“At least five years,” Robin guessed, though even she wasn’t entirely sure. “Wait, how are you out here? I thought you hated being on ships?”

“I do, well,  _ did _ . But my brother convinced me to come on this trip! Said somethin’ about getting experience or whatever.”

“God, your brother… he isn’t  _ here _ is he?” Robin asked with a wince as the medbay doors opened once more as a man with blue hair walked through.

“Lissa! I told you not to come down here-” the man said before stopping dead in his tracks. “No way.”

“Hello, Chrom,” Robin said, avoiding his eyes while trying to keep the embarrassment out of her cheeks. 

“I didn’t-why were yo- I… I knew the voice on the distress signal sounded familiar,” Chrom said with a grin. 

“I can’t believe this is the way I’m seeing the two of you again after all these years,” she said with a sigh.

In truth, she wanted to drop dead on the spot. 

Because it wasn’t every day your ex-boyfriend rescued you on the outskirts of space.


	2. Blind Sided

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You either talk to him… or you don’t. It's as simple as that.” 
> 
> Maribelle is right, there's no doubt about it... but things are often never as easy as they seem.

Why?

_ Why _ ?

Out of all the people in the galaxy, why did it have to be  _ him _ ?

Robin cast a sidelong gaze at Chrom, taking in everything about him. His dark cobalt hair, matched only by the finer details in his uniform. The way he held himself, confident and regal, like any prince should. And his face… the same face that she had adored all those years ago.

In truth, it was the same face she adored now, but god smite anyone who heard her admit that. The boyish grin he always wore was still plastered on his face, though it was beyond her why he would be  _ happy _ about this whole situation.

She hoped, no,  _ prayed _ he would feel some kind of malice towards her after disappearing five years ago, knowing that their discord would make these next few steps much easier.

But Chrom wasn’t like that.

He’d  _ never _ been like that. 

So of course the only thing he’d be right now was happy. Excited. Possibly even overjoyed at the prospect of seeing Robin once again.

“I’m sorry… am I missing something here? Do you two know each other?” Marbelle said as she pointed to both of them with the end of her pen.

“Ex-boyfriend,” she responded.

“Old friend,” he said at the same time. Their eyes locked, though neither met for the same reason.

A friend? 

THAT’S what he thought of her? 

No, friends didn’t abandon each other the way she did. Robin had her reasons for doing so, god knows she did, but even so… not a day went by without her feeling remorse for it.

“Ah, I see…” Maribelle responded with slight hesitation. “Well… Robin, I believe we’re done with the interview. I’ll be back in a bit to run some tests and make sure you’re in tip top shape but I, er… need some supplies. That gives you two some time to catch up, yes? Go-”

“W-wait!” Robin cried before Maribelle could rush out of the room. “Couldn’t we just, um, finish everything up now? I’m quite… tired. And I’d really just like to get this all over with.”

The healer glanced over to Chrom if only for a moment before giving Robin a quick nod.

“I suppose we could,” Maribelle said before gesturing for Chrom and Lissa to leave the medbay, and before he could put up any protest.

“What about the supplies you needed?” Lissa quipped as she headed to the door.

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll find just what I need in here. Now shoo! Both of you!”

As the siblings exited through the sliding doors, Robin let out a sigh of relief. 

“I guess I should apologize for almost forcing you into an uncomfortable situation,” Maribelle said as she rummaged through the disorganized cabinets and drawers. 

“A-ah. I suppose it wouldn’t have been that bad, I just… ugh, it just would’ve been too much to deal with.”

“Was the breakup bad?”

“No, nothing like that… actually, I don’t think we ever officially broke up. I just-” She thought back to the frequent calls and panicked texts Chrom had sent her after she disappeared. “I messed up. Bad.”

“Oh, care to explain?”

“There’s not much  _ to _ explain, I guess. I violently overreacted to things out of my control and ended up moving halfway across town without telling anyone. I figured it would’ve been easier than explaining to him the way I was feeling.”

“So you ghosted him?”

“I guess… ugh,” she quickly buried her head in her hands. “I’m so stupid. And now here I am on his ship. I don’t know if I can actually talk to him about anything. At least not yet.”

“So don’t,” Maribelle stated flatly. “You don’t owe him a thing. If you aren’t ready to talk about what happened, then you don’t have to.”

“But doesn’t he deserve an explanation? I mean, if Chrom suddenly up and disappeared for years without a trace I guess I’d be upset too…”

“So talk to him.”

“But you just said-”

“I won’t have you running yourself ragged, thinking in circles about this. If you think the right thing to do is to explain yourself, then you’ll have about a week to do so. But in that time, you can’t just keep going back and forth on what you think the right decision is. You either talk to him… or you don’t. It's as simple as that.”

Robin opened her mouth to respond before closing it. Maribelle  _ did _ have a point. 

But it surely was easier said than done.

“I guess…” was all she mumbled before the healer gestured for her to stand up. 

From there, Robin went through the standard physical examination expected of trauma victims. Every part of her body was checked, every scrape and bruise poked and prodded at and slathered in salves and bandages to prevent infections.

It was one of those things she’d learned about at the academy and found wholly uninteresting, though she supposed it made sense. A spaceship was a crowded environment, and while the anaerobic atmosphere would prevent any such disease or bacteria from spreading, ships venturing to the deepest recesses of space were sure to pick up some alien pathogens.

All in the name of precaution, she guessed.

After having her own blood drawn, the healer scraped samples of the dried blood off of her face.

“The more information we have about the situation, the better,” was her reasoning.

The final part of the examination ended with Maribelle doing a full body scan on their state of the art ‘scan-mo-tron 2000’, something that made her old ships scanner seem like a ten year old toaster in comparison.

By the end, Robin was absolutely exhausted. Luckily for her, the healer took note of that and led her to the communal sleeping areas and set her up in a spare bed.

As much as she wanted to flop herself down and shut her eyes, Robin knew how dreadful she looked. So instead of snuggling up amongst the comfy blankets and soft pillows, she headed to the showers to wash herself of the day's previous events.

Everything about Chrom’s ship, from the floors to the tech to the god damn  _ bathrooms _ , was pristine. While it was an obvious improvement to her last living quarters, a part of her, and perhaps an irrational one at that, was almost angry at the fact. Maybe upset was a better word, but whatever the feeling was made her want to rip out the chrome panels with her bare hands.

Everything here only hammered in the reasons she left in the first place.

Robin chased away any malicious thoughts she had and, for a moment, stood there and let the warm water run over her back, thinking back on what Maribelle had said.

_ I have some options _ , she thought to herself.  _ I could explain myself and face whatever shame and guilt is in store for me. Or… I could do nothing and go about my miserable life. It’s not like spilling my heart out and begging for forgiveness would change much, anyways. _

Yet the image of Chrom’s goofy, boyish smile when he first saw her almost convinced her otherwise. 

_ Ugh, maybe he isn’t mad… could I really just- just start again?  _

The water in the shower suddenly turned freezing cold, causing her to yelp as she quickly gave her hair one last rinse before wrapping a towel around herself. Perhaps she was taking a  _ bit _ too long… and dwelling on the same topic. 

With a heavy sigh, Robin dried herself off before slipping into the clean uniform Maribelle provided and tucked herself into the spare bed laid out for her amongst the other women on the crew. 

As soon as her head hit the cool fabric of her pillow, she was out like a light. And sleep was something she had been looking forward to all day, because perhaps she would wake up the next morning and realize the events of the day had all been some sick, twisted dream.

Robin found herself disappointed the next morning when she realized she was, in fact, still on the ship. With a sigh, she sat herself up, realizing that everyone else had already left the sleeping quarters, leaving her to ponder how late she had actually slept in. 

“It’s not like I’m an actual crewmate here. I’m not bound by some arbitrary schedule…” she muttered to herself before getting out of bed. She walked to the door, which opened automatically for her, and popped her head out, scanning the hallways for any sign of life. 

Yet she saw nobody. 

Not a single soul filled the hallways, giving the ship's interior an almost haunted feeling. It couldn’t be helped, though. Everyone was probably off doing their own tasks, too busy to pay any mind to the new stowaway on board. 

As she turned around, Robin found herself face to face with a young woman, one who wore a beaming smile. 

“Gah!” She yelped in surprise.

“O-oh, I’m sorry, did I scare you?” The woman asked with a look of worry.

“A little bit, yes…” Robin admitted. “I’m sorry, I must be in your way.” 

“Actually, not at all! I was waiting for you to wake up!”

“Er, I see… and you did that because?”

“Well, I figured you’d be so incredibly bored on the trip back to Ylisstol, I thought I might offer you some books to read through!” The woman held a soft hand out. “I’m Sumia, by the way.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Robin said as she shook the other woman's hand. “I’m-”

“Robin, right? Don’t worry, the Captain was going on and on about you yesterday and I figured if I could remember one thing it would be your name!”

“I… he was talking about me?” She felt her hands clench into fists. “That little…”

“Oh, d-don’t worry! It was all good things! I don’t think I heard him utter one bad thing about you, actually…” Sumia pressed a finger to her chin for a moment as she tried to think back.

Robin could only feel herself reel in confusion. Why was Chrom singing her praises? Any normal, sane person would’ve been furious at her for what she pulled… 

“I see…” was all she murmured. 

“But anyways! I brought you a handful of things to look through. Let me know if you don’t find anything interesting. I always have more!” Sumia cheered as she moved a large stack of novels onto Robin’s bed.

A ‘handful’ of things was quite the understatement considering the sheer volume of books. She sorted through them, noting the variability. Sumia seemed to have everything from horror to romance to education to even pure erotica, though something about her reaction made it seem like that particular novel got mixed in on accident.

By the end, Robin didn’t find anything she particularly liked, which then prompted Sumia to drag over an even larger stack of books. But once again, nothing truly stuck out, and by the end, Sumia seemed quite distraught.

“I’m so sorry…” she whimpered, wiping tears from her eyes. “I wish I could’ve been a bigger help… if I wasn’t so damn useless at everything….”

“Hey, you know what? It’s totally fine. You offered the books to me, so if anything, it’s my fault for not finding one that I like, okay?” Robin tried to reason, though she was utterly exhausted by the whole fiasco. “It has nothing to do with your competency.”

“Oh, I guess. I just really wanted to be helpful,” Sumia sighed, moving her books back under her bed. 

“And I appreciate the effort, I really do. You don’t have to be so hard on yourself.”

“Heh, Maribelle says the same thing all the time,” she said. “Well, sorry to have wasted your time. I’ll see you around the ship, okay?”

Before she could say anything, Sumia sulked out the doors, leaving Robin with a feeling of guilt. But along with the guilt, she also felt the realization dawn on her that maybe… maybe this voyage  _ would _ be boring. What was there for her to possibly do? Was she expected to work? She supposed that the captain would’ve given her a quick briefing but… 

Maybe intense boredom was preferable to the latter.

So Robin decided to take her first day to explore the ship. Find every nook and cranny, discover cool places to lounge about and relax… note any good places to hide from a certain captain.

So she exited the sleeping area and swung a right into the hallways. Above her were pieces of glass so that crewmates could see the vast expanse of space above, a sight that used to terrify her. Despite that, the corridor she walked through was quite… barren. Robin wasn’t sure what she expected from a big, royal cruiser, but the endless panels of chrome and spacers certainly wasn’t it. But perhaps compared to the walls that were regularly falling apart on her old ship, these were a considerable improvement.

Eventually, she made it to the cafeteria, a large, surprisingly calm room with a big window that also looked out into space. On the opposite end of the room were the airlock doors… and being in such close proximity to such massive things made her skin crawl. What if those accidentally opened? What if someone got sucked through? 

With a shudder, she kept moving. There didn’t seem to be many people on board, considering the fact the cafeteria was completely empty. Perhaps there was some big, important meeting happening elsewhere? 

Whatever the reason, Robin picked one of the two exits in front of her and left, finding herself in the weapons area of the ship. Had it been anyone else’s ship, she would’ve been impressed. From the pristine leather chair attached to the external laser system, to the state of the art weapons that hung from the walls… it all looked brand new and in mint condition, as if they had never been used.

Further down the hallway she found the navigation room, which was also considerably empty. She stepped inside and looked over every bit of tech and each computer system and couldn’t help her awe. She’d never seen such… advanced machinery. How new was this stuff? As she went to run her hands along one of the systems, someone cleared their throat behind her. With a yelp, she whirled around, only to find Chrom leaning against the doorway.

“I figured I might find you here,” he said with a grin. 

“...I-I was only looking,” Robin managed to stammer.

“Of course. Don’t let me stop you,” Chrom said as he stepped into the room and went to stand by her side. Though at the same time, she went to leave the room, only to bump face first into his chest.

“Ah, s-sorry…” she muttered before rushing out into the hallway, feeling his hand gently wrap around her wrist.

“Wait, I wanted to ask something of you-”

“N-no, no. I, er… I need to use the bathroom. Sorry,” Robin managed, slowly pulling her hand away. She didn’t dare risk a glance back at him as she headed out back into the hallway.

She could’ve sworn she heard him call for her, but that wasn’t something she was quite ready for. With the absence of everyone on board, Chrom’s presence had almost caught her by surprise.

And that was a state she wouldn’t let him catch her in again. 

Robin had almost forgotten that this was, in fact, his ship. And as expected, he could and  _ would _ be anywhere at any time, lurking around every damn corner.

So to avoid that… perhaps staying in the sleeping area for the next week was best.

Hiding away with her tail between her legs wasn’t how she entirely expected to spend her week, and frankly, it was as boring as Sumia said it would be. But it was the safest option she had. Every now and again, a crewmate would come into the sleeping area, sometimes Sumia, sometimes a different red haired woman, and would try and convince Robin to leave and join them for food in the cafeteria. 

The answer was always a resounding “no thanks”, much to their dismay. Sumia never pushed it, but the other woman? God above, was she persistent, considering the time she tried to drag Robin out of her bed and force her to go eat. After that moment, the woman never tried again and only Sumia ever tried to get her to come.

Had she known any better, she would’ve assumed Chrom put them up to this. But perhaps the crewmates of this ship were really that kind and wanted her to have a nice dinner with the rest of the ship.

Whatever their reason, and no matter how persuasive, Robin simply wouldn’t allow herself to go and instead allowed herself to sparse trips to a nearby vending machine. Chrom seemed to pick up on her schedule, however, and often stuck around that area in hopes of catching her.

“Robin! I hope you aren’t busy!”

“Hey, I’ll make it quick but-”

“You know, I think we should probably talk-”

“Um, Robin? Do you have a minute?”

Almost every, damned day he would appear and ask. And almost every, damned time, Robin would find an excuse not to.

“Sorry, but I’m quite… tired.”

“I’m just, er, looking for the bathroom… again.”

“A-ah, please, not right now.”

And there were even times where she could barely stutter out an answer and simply walked away with a cringe. 

Maribelle’s words rang in her ears.

_ “You either talk to him… or you don’t. It's as simple as that.” _

Pah, simple? What about this was simple? 

Robin ran her fingers through her hair in frustration as she stood in front of the vending machine for the umpteenth time that week. She could’ve sworn she hit the buttons for her chips, yet nothing was coming out...

She tapped the buttons again, harder each time, with no results. 

“Having trouble?” A new voice spoke. Robin almost felt her heart drop, thinking it may have been Chrom, but the voice was much deeper. When she turned to face its speaker, she was met with a wiry man with a mop of orange hair.

“O-oh, yes. I think it ate up my credit,” she explained.

“Ah. Let the master show you how it's done,” he said, cracking his knuckles. The man tapped a few of the buttons in a seemingly complex order before pressing the change return switch. After a few moments of that, he just decided to instead rock the machine back and forth, to and fro. 

And yes, Robin ended up getting her chips, but the man also ended up knocking every other snack item out and into the tray below.

She gave him a thank you before trying to quickly head back to her bed, only for the man to catch her by the arm. He tried to pass more food into her hands, though she quickly denied. He only shrugged before stuffing everything else into a bag of his own.

“You’re taking everything?” Robin said with a scowl.

“Sure am.”

“I… uh, other people use that machine, you know?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen you nursing yourself off the Doritos in here more than once. But now that it’s all gone, that means you’ve gotta join us in the cafeteria for meals.”

“I’m not really hungry enough to have a whole meal. That’s why I’ve been kind of relying on the vending machine,” she tried to explain.

“Look, it can’t be healthy to keep eatin’ snacks like this all the time, right?” 

“I’m sorry?”

“Bubbles, I’m just sayin that a real meal would probably do you good.”

“Excuse me, but I don’t know you? I don’t think it’s entirely appropriate to comment on my ‘health’. And what did you call me? ‘Bubbles’?”

“Mhm, and I didn’t mean anythin’ by my health comment. In fact, I think girls look better with a little meat on their bones. I just-” the man was cut off as Robin shot her bag of chips at his face.

“Whatever, asshole,” she hissed. 

“Hey, c’mon! I really didn’t mean anything by that! In fact, I think you’re a real catch,” he said, seemingly unable to read the room.

“That’s… not a compliment.”

“No? Ah, I mean it though, Bubbles.”

“Stop calling me that!” Robin exclaimed. “I swear, if we were anywhere else I’d-”

A tune suddenly rang through the air, followed by the crackly sound of Chrom’s voice over the PA system.

**_Crewmates of the BS Shepherd; Report to the navigation room ASAP. Over and out._ **

“Ah, sorry to cut our chat short, Bubbles. Duty calls,” he said, shoving as many bags into his pockets as possible before giving Robin a quick wave. 

“What a jerk…” she mumbled before turning to head back to the sleeping area, only to whirl right back around and grab a few extra bags of snacks.

As soon as she got back to her bed, she shoved her new stash of food between the gap at the head of her mattress before tossing out the remnants of her past snacks. Afterwards, she hopped back into her bed and scrolled through her phone, if only to check the date. 

One more day. 

It had been six whole days since the attack on her old crew. Six whole days stuck on this ship. Six whole days since she’d had to give any sort of testimony about what took place that day. 

That last fact struck her as odd. Why hadn’t Maribelle asked her for anything else? The short interview couldn’t have been enough to explain a ship full of corpses… right? God, why hadn’t Chrom, the captain who’d picked up her distress signal, said anything?  
Robin’s heart dropped to her stomach as the realization hit her. 

_ That’s _ what he was trying to talk to her about, wasn’t it? 

She slid a hand over her face and shut her eyes. Here she was, acting all kinds of immature, when she was suspect number one in this whole event. 

In the midst of her crisis, the doors to the sleeping area opened. Robin didn’t open her eyes, but she could feel a presence approach her. There was only one person who was persistent enough to try and talk to her while she was in bed…

“Sumia, please… I’m not in the mood to talk right now,” she muttered, cracking her eyes open, only to feel her words catch in her throat.

Chrom stood over her, arms crossed. He held himself in a position that, to anyone, would’ve said ‘angry’ or ‘annoyed’. Yet his face was as neutral as possible, perhaps even a little concerned.

“Robin, please…” he breathed. “I think we need to talk.”

“W-whatever for…?”

“You’ve been avoiding me. And I think I’d like to know why.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda realized that the among us hype might kinda die down after a bit, so waiting a few weeks to update this probs wasn't the best idea lol. But anywho, if there's any possible way to fit Gaius into a story, god knows I'm gonna do It


	3. Prideful Envy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Facades break, tears are shed, and Robin finally comes to terms with her past

Damn him. 

“I thought there was some big meeting in the navigation room,” Robin muttered.

“There is, but seeing as I’m the one who called it, that won’t be starting until we’re done here,” Chrom said, his voice calm and grounding.

She pinched the bridge of her nose with a grimace. “You really called a meeting so you could corner me here without interruption?”

“It seems so.”

“You’re an idiot,” Robin muttered as she flipped onto her other side to face away from Chrom.

“Some would call it genius, actually,” he quipped, though when he failed to get a reaction from her, he walked around to the other side of her bed and folded his arms. “Robin, I’m sorry, but there really isn’t a better time for us to talk.”

“Look, I’ve already told you everything. I just want to get back to Ylisstol and forget about all of this,” she all but hissed.

“Yeah, I can imagine you do. But this isn’t about your old ship,” he said.

Robin’s eyes widened as she sat up and leaned her back against the wall. “It’s not?” 

“Like you said, you already told us everything that you knew. And we reviewed the security footage from your ship's cams and saw everything. Scary stuff, I have to say.”

“Okay… then I don’t understand why you’re here.”

“To talk about us?”

“I’m not entirely sure what there is to talk about,” Robin replied coldly.

Chrom took a seat at the foot of her bed and locked eyes with her. “Really? How about the fact that you up and disappeared years ago and this is the first time I’ve seen you since? You don’t think that’s a big thing to discuss?”

She pulled her legs up to her chest and tightly wrapped her arms around them, averting her gaze.

“Okay, look,” Chrom sighed as he realized they weren’t getting anywhere. “We can start small, yeah? What have you been up to? Er, excluding recent events, I mean.”

“Struggling to find work, living paycheck to paycheck,” Robin responded with a glare. 

So this was really happening. 

There were a few ways she could go about this.  _ Quite _ a few ways. But she figured that no matter how jovial and hopeful or cold and distant she acted would change the fact that this conversation was  _ finally _ happening. 

Avoiding someone for years was easy. Finally being confronted about it was not.

“A-ah… Robin, I didn’t know. If I did, you know I would’ve helped out in anyway I could-”

“I don’t need your help, Chrom,” she snapped. “And I never will.”

Perhaps it came out a bit harsher then she intended, but… it definitely got her point across.

The two held eyes for a moment as the prince opened and closed his mouth a few times, mulling over his words. His expression turned sour as tried to clear the hurt look away. “Well you certainly needed my help a few days ago.”

“Excuse me?” Robin’s eyes narrowed..

“Your distress signal? The fact you very well could have died out in the middle of nowhere? What, should my crew just have ignored your signal and left you alone?”

“All things considered, that would be preferable to this situation,” she muttered. 

“That’s an odd way of saying thank you,” he jeered.

“Oh, I’m sorry,  _ Your Majesty _ . I didn’t know you expected personal gratitude from all your subjects for the menial tasks you do!”

Chrom shot off the bed in a huff. “I don’t get it, Robin. I’ve seen neither hide nor hair of you for the past five years. I get no calls, no messages,  _ nothing _ , and now all of sudden, here you are, stranded in space, and on top of that,  _ I’m _ the bad guy for helping? Am I going to get an explanation for this or am I going to be left in the dark on this too?”

“You think I  _ wanted _ to meet you out here again? When I look as pathetic as this? When I was traveling with a ship full of corpses? When the blood of my own  _ damn _ father rests on my hands? And… you honestly have the  _ gall _ to think I feel above it all right now?” She cried, becoming painfully aware at just how loud they were getting.

He took a minute to take a breath before sitting back down on the bed. “I didn’t say anything close to that, Robin, and you know it,” Chrom said as he ran a hand down his face. “Gah, I’m going about this the wrong way. I guess... I’m just a little overwhelmed to see you alive after all this time, is all.”

Robin looked back to him in shock. “You… you thought I was dead?”

“Well, when your best friend suddenly disappears without a word, you kind of assume the worse,” he admitted, his face softening.

“I-I see…” Robin said quietly. For a moment, neither said anything. Frankly, neither was entirely sure  _ what _ to say. Chrom adjusted his weight, the creak of the bed cutting through the silence.

“God, I’m sorry too,” she finally said. “You do deserve an explanation, I just-”

“No, I get it. You don’t have to say anything. It was selfish of me to just spring this up on you after everything you went through,” he said as he stood up and motioned to the door. “I think I’ll go. Give you your space… seeing as there’s a whole crew of people in the nav room waiting for me,” he said with a breathy laugh.

Somehow, Robin found herself blowing air through her nose at his comment. “No, Chrom, just stay and listen. You’re trying to be sweet but… god, I don’t deserve that. You  _ know _ I don’t..”

“I didn’t say that either,” he responded quietly. His eyes remained on her as he gave her a slight nod.

“Okay… I-I guess I have to preface this all by saying that I never wanted to intentionally hurt you by disappearing like I did. If anything, that was the last thing I wanted to have happen. I just, I don’t know… I felt like I didn’t have any other options.”

“But that’s what I don’t understand, Robin,” Chrom said. “I thought we were… good? Great, even. I don’t remember any big problems between us.”

“That’s because there wasn’t…” she took a deep breath. “Not anything that was entirely our fault, anyways.”

“I feel like I’m missing something.”

“I’m getting to that… okay. When we were back at NISE, my one goal after academy was to make it big by exploring uncharted planets, right? Discover new flora and fauna, make big scientific revelations and the like.”

“I remember the nights where you’d talk about that stuff for hours on end,” he pointed out.

“Because I was  _ very _ passionate about that stuff. And I’d like to think that I worked and studied my ass off in hopes of making that a reality.”

“Well, you didn’t graduate top of our class for nothing.”

“Right, and you’d think that’d mean something. It certainly did to me, and you and the rest of the academy. But outside of school? It doesn’t mean shit. Because any big agency wants people that have connections, or family members who do. They want people with big money… they all want people like you, Chrom.”

“I-I guess I’ve never thought about it like that.”

“But me? I practically don’t exist to the expedition crews because I’m worth nothing in their eyes. I have no money to my name, I have no…  _ morally  _ notable members of my family. When we first graduated, I was so excited to finally get out and give it my all and everything… but life just doesn’t work like that. Because while I was off turning in application after application, resume after resume, you were off striking it big with the top companies in Ylisse, going to fancy parties to talk and make trade deals with whatever CEO you could find. So I saw that, I saw how easy you had it… and I couldn’t help but compare myself. And every time you’d strike it big? I couldn’t help but feel resentful. I wanted to be happy, god knows I did… but knowing that I would never have what you did ruined me.”

“But I thought you told me that you had found work before we... eh, stopped talking?”

“I did, but that lasted for less than a week before I was replaced with a noble. I lied after that.”

“...Why?”

“Out of embarrassment, really. Shame, even. It wasn’t something I was really proud of, you know? So it got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore so I just… stopped. I packed my stuff and moved to the other side of town, and tried to start there but…”

“Robin, you had my number. You  _ knew _ me. I would have done everything I could to help you… why didn’t you talk to me?”

“Yeah, but… Chrom, what does that say about me when I have to beg my boyfriend to give me a job? What does that say when I’m just not enough to do things on my own? All of my hard work would mean nothing, so I had to find my own place without trying to leech off your own success. But I was too ashamed of where I was to ever talk to you about it so… here we are.”

The two sat there in silence for a moment. Robin’s grip on her blanket left her knuckles white, her throat tight with emotion.

“It was the most selfish thing I’ve ever done, but something inside me made me believe it was the right thing to do. I… I’m sorry, Chrom. I never wanted to make you worry, I-I… it just got to a point where I felt like I couldn’t go back even if I wanted to. There had been too much time that passed for me to suddenly show my face again and act like everything was fine. And I know it was all such an overreaction to an issue like that, and I get if you want me off your ship as soon as possible...”

Robin took a risky look back at the man. His arms were folded across his chest, unwavering. His mouth remained closed.

“Could you…” Her anguish turned to resentment. “Could you just  _ say  _ something? Anything?”

His silence was deafening. The look on his face was patronizing. Full of sympathy. Because sympathy was all the prince of Ylisse could give, seeing as the silver spoon that he was born with would never wear away

“God, stop looking at me like that. I just explained myself and if all you can offer is condescending looks, then it's best for you to just leave so I can be on my way after we dock…” she muttered, only to be suddenly pulled off of the bed, to her feet and into Chrom’s arms.

His embrace was as strong as ever, as  _ safe _ as ever. It was the warmest she’d felt in a long time.

“Wha-” she yelped in surprise, trying to pull away. “Get  _ off _ of me, Chrom!”

But he held fast. 

“Stop it!” Robin screamed. Her hands balled into fists as she beat against his back. “I don’t… I don’t deserve your  _ kindness _ !”

“I’m sorry for never being able to make you see otherwise, Robin. You deserve the world.”

His words rung in her ears. She made one more attempt to hit his back, only to lose power halfway through, her balled fist landing gently upon his back. “I hate you. I hate you for making me feel this way, you  _ dolt _ ,” she whispered, choking back a sob.

“I know. And I missed you.”

Her damn broke. 

She let the tears fall for what felt like the first time in years. She nestled her head into the crook of his neck and sobbed as he ran a comforting hand up and down her back. 

This was what she needed.

Isolation was a punishment. A punishment she had inadvertently decided she deserved. 

But here? 

This was a moment of vulnerability that she was going to relish. She’d spent so long with her guard up… that finally letting it down was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” Robin muttered with a sniffle. Chrom pulled away, if only to look her in the eyes.

“Look, I was hurt when you left. I really was. But seeing you again is enough for me. Getting to hear you and to hold  _ you _ is enough for me.”

His kind words were almost enough to break her down again, but all she could do was stifle a laugh.

“You know,” Robin quickly wiped her eyes with the ends of her sleeves. “Most people would’ve moved on.”

“That’s true,” Chrom grinned as he pulled her in once more. “But I’m not most people.”

And that was the truth. The prince was unlike anyone Robin had ever met before, and that was one of the things she always appreciated about him. 

But despite all that. Despite the weight lifted off her, despite their reconnection… how could she just waltz back into his life? 

“So… what happens now?” He asked quietly.

“I… I don’t know. Chrom, I can’t just-”

“I know what you’re going to say, and before you even say it… I ask why not?”

“Because it’s not fair to you. I don’t just get a free pass to excuse my actions…”

“Even if I’ve wholeheartedly forgiven you?” Chrom responded.

“ _ Especially _ then. I just… I don’t know, I guess I still need time to figure myself out. I might need time to recover from that hellhole of a ship, if I’m being honest.”

“Of course, but… even after that? I have positions open in my crew. And I mean, w-we don’t even have to get back together, if you don’t want. Just having you as my friend by my side would be enough.”

“Chrom, I wouldn’t forgive myself if I took advantage of you like that.”

“How is it taking advantage of me if I  _ offer _ you the position?”

“Is it not nepotism to just give me the job? I haven’t sent in any application, any resume…”

“I see… If that’s the way you feel, I won’t stop you. But I just have one request,” he said.

“And what is that?”

“You take my number again. I don’t want to lose you… only if you’re okay with that.”

“I...Of course,” she said with a smile. 

They exchanged information in silence, though Robin couldn’t help but grin at having his number again. Perhaps it was the stability it brought… that or the memories. Whatever the reason, something about it just felt  _ right _ . She looked back up at Chrom, who still had that damned boyish grin plastered over his face, and pulled him into a hug once more.

“Chrom, I-” She went to say before the doors to the sleeping area slide open.

“I don’t see why he’d be in here, Maribelle but-” Lissa called before she turned her attention to the two, who were still in an embrace. “O-oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… interrupt.” 

“A-ah, no no. You aren’t interrupting anything,” Robin assured as she pulled herself away with a huff. 

“Oh, good. Because a certain  _ brother _ of mine seemed to have forgotten about the meeting he called!” She cried. “Chrom, did you forget like, right after you called us all down? Frederick is like,  _ beyond _ pissed!”

“Er, no. I didn’t forget,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just had to make a quick stop before I headed down.”

Lissa took a moment to stare at the two, her gaze switching between each other before it finally clicked. 

“Oooo, I see,” she said with a sly grin. “So, Robin, can I expect you back over for the holidays or what?”

“Lissa!” Chrom exclaimed.

“What? That hug seemed pretty intimate! Are you guys not back together?”

He opened his mouth to yell again, only for Robin to speak up. “We aren’t back together,” she said, though the ‘yet’ died on her tongue. “But I think you deserve an explanation for where I’ve been, too… which I’ll give after your brother attends his meeting,” she said as she glanced back over to Chrom, whose eyes widened.

“Eh… I guess I should actually think of something to discuss then. I didn’t really think this far ahead,” he admitted.

With a roll of her eyes, Lissa grabbed her brother by the ear and pulled him out of the room, mumbling to herself. Before the doors slid closed, Chrom turned his attention back to Robin and gave her a wave before his sister led him down the hallway.

And then she was alone once again. 

She clutched her phone to her chest and sat back down on her bed, relishing in the euphoria if only for just a moment. 

There we so many new doors opened to her today, so many new opportunities she never felt like she’d have access to again. 

Yet there were none she could open. Not yet anyways. 

So she simply laid back down in her bed, and noted the time on her phone. 

7 o’clock at night.

They were slated to dock back in Ylisstol tomorrow morning. 

And Robin was slated to finally figure herself out. 

Then those doors would finally open, and for the first time in years, she was excited to go to this new frontier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because nothing says 'Among Us AU' like a chapter full of angst. Expect the story to pick after this point, just needed to establish some backstory and what not. But now is as good of a time as any to mention that space exploration is in a similar category as hero work in MHA, for those who've watched/read it. It's the biggest career choice for most people since the industry has loads of money, so most young adults aim for that as their job, if that makes sense.

**Author's Note:**

> My favorite fics are the ones that are created from one scene, and that's what this is!! Perhaps Chrobin week has reignited my motivation, or maybe it's because I'm very much into this story plot line. Or maybe it's because I like to distract myself from my college classes by writing!! It's anyone's guess, really.


End file.
